


Spa Night

by burning_books



Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Brightwell, Cute, F/M, Fluff, seriously just cute fluff content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-04-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:42:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23905609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/burning_books/pseuds/burning_books
Summary: Jessica Whitly makes Malcolm feel insecure. He turns to Dani for advice.
Relationships: Malcolm Bright/Dani Powell
Kudos: 52





	Spa Night

"Listen, Dani, this is probably a weird request but can I ask it anyway?" Malcolm spoke quietly, glancing around the precinct. He was clearly uncomfortable.

"Sure, Bright, what's up?" Dani replied, attempting to conceal her concern and curiosity. She followed his nervous gaze with a steadier glance; the coast was clear.

"It's - this is so stupid but, um, the whole sleeping for three hours every other night thing is really not great for my complexion. Can you, I mean, would you mind helping me out with that, maybe this weekend?"

Dani stared at him for a long moment - he really did look worried about this. And he was right, his skin was rarely ever in good shape. "You're right, that is weird." His eyes widened further, something Dani didn't think was possible. "But yeah, sure. Saturday night work? I can come to your place."

He visibly relaxed, letting out a relieved sigh. "Thank you, yes, Saturday night works great, see you then, thank you so much -" Malcolm's phone buzzed, cutting him off. He glanced down at it. "A text from my mother. I gotta go. But I'll see you Saturday!"

With that, he was gone. Dani shook her head, a slight smile on her lips. How that man had so much energy, she'd never understand.

\---

Dani was weirdly nervous standing outside Malcolm's building, a bag full of skincare stuff slung over her arm. She hesitated for a moment before pressing the intercom button. "Hey, Bright, it's Dani," was all she said.

"Come on up!" Malcolm's voice crackled with static. Then the buzzer went off and the door clicked open. Dani took a breath, swallowed her nerves, and headed up to Malcolm's apartment.

"Hey Dani," he said when she walked through the door, "come on in, thanks again for coming. You're the best. Can I take your jacket?"

"Yeah, sure. Here." She slid out of her favorite leather jacket, handed it to Malcolm. He took it, hung it up. "And it's no problem, seriously." Dani smiled slightly at him. "I brought plenty of supplies," she said, holding up her bag. "Figured we could turn this into a proper spa night - heaven knows you could use one."

"Sounds like an excellent idea! Let's get started, shall we?" He looked at her expectantly, clearly unsure of what to do.

"Yeah, sure, but you're probably going to want to change out of that suit into something more comfortable," Dani said, looking him up and down. He wore a vest and dress pants, even had a tie and shoes on. Malcolm Bright was nothing if not consistently overdressed. To be fair, though, he did look damn good in a suit. 

Dani, on the other hand, wore an oversized t-shirt and leggings. 

"But I am comfortable," he replied. "I took my jacket off. I'm very comfortable."

"Shut up and put sweatpants on so we can get started," Dani retorted, simultaneously annoyed and amused.

"Fine," he mumbled, walking off to the bathroom to get changed. While she waited, Dani settled in on the couch, unpacking the contents of her bag onto his coffee table for easy access.

She glanced up when she heard the door open, and watched Malcolm walk towards her. He looked unfairly good in grey sweatpants and a white t-shirt. "That's more like it," she said. "I thought we could watch a movie while we do this, that cool?"

"That sounds perfect! What should we watch?"

"How about Dead Poets Society?" Dani suggested. 

"Nah, too emotional. Have you seen Moonrise Kingdom?" Malcolm asked. 

"I have literally no idea what that is. What about The Truman Show?" 

"Or we could watch Romeo and - you know, actually, nevermind. The Truman Show sounds good, let's do that." 

Dani smiled and shook her head, and Malcolm shuffled off to get the movie going, trying to hide his slight blush. 

Once the movie got started, Malcolm perched on the couch next to Dani. "So how does this work?" he asked. 

"Well, you said your skin was getting bad, especially under your eyes, so I brought some stuff for that. These -" she picked up a packet, "- are for under your eyes. And this -" she held up a small jar, "- is for the rest of your face. You desperately need some moisturizer in your life. This mask will help with that."

"Okay, how do I put all this on?" he asked. 

"You don't. I do. Come here." 

Malcolm obediently shifted closer to Dani, turning his face towards her. 

"Alright, look up with just your eyes for a sec. This might be a little cold." He did so and she carefully placed the patches under his eyes. 

"Alright, you're good. Now for the mask." She scooped out a glob of the stuff and carefully spread it over Malcolm's face. Once she finished, she scooted back to get a good look at him, and laughed. "That's a great look for you," she teased. 

"Do I look stupid?" He pulled out his phone and opened the camera. "Very stupid." They both laughed. 

"Don't worry, I'm joining you. I brought a sheet mask for me. Mind holding this mirror a sec?" She handed him a small compact mirror and he dutifully held it up as she applied her own mask. When she finished, Malcolm burst into giggles. 

"You're right, now we both look stupid!" he said through his laughter. 

"Yeah, but we're both gonna look amazing when all this comes off."  
Dani pulled her phone out and set a couple timers. "Your patches will come off shortly before the mask. But for now, we wait and enjoy the movie."

\---

When the first timer went off, Dani turned to Malcolm. "Alright, that's you - you can peel off those patches now. Just put them there," she said pointing to her empty mask package. 

He pulled them off, then looked over at her and chuckled again. "I'm sorry, I just can't take you seriously with that thing on your face," he explained. Dani just rolled her eyes, a slight smile on her lips. 

The second timer beeped, and Dani pulled off her mask, then stood up. 

"Where are you going?" Malcolm asked. 

"Grabbing you a washcloth so you can take your mask off."

"Oh, top drawer all the way to the right," he replied. 

She brought back the warm cloth just as the last timer went off, and handed it to Malcolm. "I'll let you do this part. Just rub it off, be gentle."

He took the cloth and followed her instruction, then looked up at her. "Did I get it all?" 

"No, you missed a spot on your cheek. Here," she said, and Malcolm handed back the cloth. She gently wiped it away, and he watched her eyes until their gazes met. "Got it," she whispered, but didn't move for a long moment. 

"Do my eyes look better?" he finally asked. 

"Yeah, they look a lot less puffy. What was all this about, anyway?" Dani asked as she sat back down. 

Malcolm studied the TV screen. "My mother made a comment about how awful I looked a couple days ago, and it made me feel weirdly insecure. So, I came to you because I figured, your skin always looks perfect, so you had to know something helpful." 

"Thanks, I clearly work hard for my skin," she said. "I'm sorry about your mom. But if you wanted to do this more often, I'd be down."

He looked back at her. "Yes. That would be amazing." He smiled, and she smiled back. 

\--- 

By the end of the movie, Dani found herself snuggled close to Malcolm, her head resting on his shoulder. His arm was wrapped around her, holding her close. 

"I really do not want to get up," he said, and she grinned. 

"Me neither," she replied. "Wanna watch another movie instead? We could watch Romeo and Juliet," she teased. 

"Okay, but we're watching the 1996 film as directed by Baz Luhrman," he said, reaching for the remote. 

"Whatever makes you happy," Dani replied, snuggling in closer, holding him tight. She never wanted to let go.


End file.
